Dirty White Boys ~ Stephen Hunter

Funk Rating: 8 out of 10

This is a "catchup" blog post (and I've got a few more coming). Along the way of my constipated nightstand, I managed to jam in a couple other books. This was one of them. I so incredibly loved Point of Impact by Hunter that I snuck in another one in the "trilogy". This one is about some escaped convicts and the cops that try to take them down.

I have to say that Hunter is an amazingly talented writer. His character development is extraordinary. He probably tried a touch too hard to make the good guys flawed, and the bad guys surprisingly redeeming. But, even so, it's a heck of a story. Some seriously awful and horrid plot twists (lots of blood, guts, mayhem and tragedy; love triangles run amok; twisted minds, etc.) make you almost cringe and say "oooh, that's nasty and bad." But, you keep on turning the page, and turning and turning.

As must always happen in any book I rate above a 6, the good guys win and the bad guys lose. But this book probably takes the prize for making that journey as painful as possible; for when you cheer you still cringe. If you are looking for a thriller that makes you really wonder if there is good in this world, and if you want your thrillers to be provocative about how the jail system in America is one of our most awful legacies to future generations, this is a must-read.

Global warming may kill us all in the end (author's note: it's -5 right now). But what we do to criminals with today's jail system may wreak far more painful and personal injury to us and our loved ones in our lifetime... If I took anything away from this book, it's that the next fundraiser that calls me about prison reform will actually get my attention and I will listen and see if I can support it.